ABSTRACT
This chapter examines public opinion about the United States military across five dimensions of analysis using a Texas statewide survey that includes a rare oversample of Latino and African American respondents. It finds that while support for the military remains high, attitudes vary across a cluster of important military-related issues and within the factors that influence them. Social scientific study of the military began during the Second World War with investigations into attitudes about the military and the war, the motivations of soldiers, and the adjustment of veterans to civilian life. The study of race-/ethnicity-based differences of opinion toward the military are among the most important from a recruitment standpoint. The Department of Defense is more dependent upon public opinion than are other governmental agencies. While support for undocumented immigrant military service is relatively high in Texas, quite a few more Latinos support this policy option than do Anglos.
